I realize it may be different from state to state, but generally speaking, is it legal for an employee that drives a courier van for a company to transport prescription drugs from a pharmacy in town “A” to a clinic in town “B”? The prescriptions are in totes which are sealed shut with wire ties and they are carried in the back of the van.
I don’t work for the pharmacy, nor does the pharmacy pay my company for delivering the drugs. The only tie between the two businesses in that the pharmacy is the preferred pharmacy for their insurance company. The pharmacy advertises delivery but they also have a vehicle for the purpose.
I have no problem carrying these things but it would just ruin my day if I were to get pulled over by the police for something and hauled off to jail for having prescription drugs basically in my possession that weren’t mine.
Too many unanswered questions. Are they bulk pharmaceuticals, or have they been dispensed to individual patients who are in Town B waiting for them? There is also a very fuzzy matter about whom your company represents, as a courier. Who pays your company to transport these shipments?
My neighbor, who is an invalid, asked me to pick up her prescription for her when I went to WalMart. I went to the Rx counter, gave them her name and date of birth, presented the copay on my credit card, and they handed me the bag of prescriptions. I drove home with her Rx in my car. If I had been stopped by the police, they may have gone through the simple process of verifying from the patient that I was acting as her agent, as a courier, and that would be the end of it.
Even if possession of prescription drugs by an “authorized” agent is technically illegal in a jurisdiction, most cops are human beings and understand the difference between a arguably technical and minor violation of the law and a true deviant antisocial criminal act worthy of criminal justice intervention. If you get “caught” with grandma’s liver medicine while you were pulling in to her driveway, having picked it up at Valu-Drug 15 minutes ago, no cop would arrest over that and no DA would press charges. Maybe Texas, but a big maybe.
The business I am a courier for is owned by the same company that owns the clinic I deliver the prescriptions to, but I don’t work for the clinic. The pharmacy is privately owned. The prescriptions are individual prescriptions individually packaged and put into a tote which is “locked” shut with a wire tie.
As far as the pharmacy delivering to shut-ins, well, they are the originator of the prescription so they should be able to deliver with no problem.
I’m really thinking that it isn’t a problem, but I just really hate bad surprises.
Most pharmacies receive their medications (in the bulk containers) delivered in a standard fedex or UPS van, and what you’re doing is almost identical (legally) to what they (ups/fedex) are doing.
You’re delivering substances from an authorized provider to an entity authorized to have those medications. It’s not absolutely clear that you’ve been directed by that agency to carry those medications, but it seems only logical that at some point the owner offered to have his courier transport the prescriptions for free (reducing the financial overhead) and the clinic manager agreed. Therefore, you’ve theoretically been authorized by the clinic to carry the prescriptions. The fact that the case is sealed with an anti-tamper device (the zip tie) just eliminates a possible source of inventory variance (i.e. if they’re missing pills, it’s either the pharmacy or the clinic)
Aside from narcotics, all my 'scripts (old age is SO much fun) are delivered by the Post Office in plastic bags.
The narcotics require in-person presentation of the 'script (a super-special piece of paper - the old ones actually required the thumbprint of the MD) and in-person pick-up.
So far, I can do this myself, but may end up finding out about a third-party delivery.
Those daily pill planner boxes that are so widely used are technically illegal outside your home in Texas (and probably other states), and there have been a few dick cops who have arrested people for them, but they have been thrown out of court. By law,you must have the original containers or a copy of the Rx ready at hand for any controlled drugs in your possession. Which means if you are a CHF patient who needs to take a dozen different drugs through the day, and you go on an all day outing or an overnight trip, you are technically required to carry along a bag with all of the original Rx containers, or be in violation of state law and subject to arrest and prosecution and the need to pay attorney fees to get you off.
I keep a copy of (now outdated) my narcotic scripts in my wallet - I also carry a few if I’m going to be out more than a few hours.
I am fortunate in that I do not get a psychotropic reaction to narcotics. OK, I have - so far 8 times in the last 9 years of ever-increasing nastiness of analgesic.
